The invention pertains to the use of an organic filler of animal origin in the preparation of friction materials offering a very low rate of wear.
Reducing the wear of friction elements has always been one of the main concerns of mechanical engineers and in particular when the life and reliability of mechanisms including friction elements have to be improved.
This concern has caused the research to be geared, for a very long time, to the production of materials which can operate with a very low rate of wear while in friction contact with any type of surface (steel, casting or other).
Numerous compounds have been produced to this effect, including metal alloys, sintered materials, plastic materials, etc. More recently, "composite" materials have been developed, in which the master stock (metal, polymer or other) is associated with a filler of variable complexity and consisting of one or several compounds offering various properties: reinforcing property (asbestos, glass or cellulosic fiber for instance), solid lubricant (graphite or molybdenum disulphide, for instance) or other properties such as thermal stabilizer, antioxidant, and the like.